Terrible Launch ?

Something must of gone horribly unexpectedly in the manufacturing. Perhaps Intel is having low yields on the processor or some other component is in short supply. This is a very strange product launch - plenty of demo units in the Apple Store but none to buy. Supply appears to be coming in only in the volume of a couple (single digits) of units. I've been checking twice a day with my two local Apple Stores - no stock. Even stopping in the store - no stock. I recall buying my iPhone the day after the launch and my little local Apple Store had piles of them available - they kept wheeling out carts with them stacked as high as they could. Some have suspected delays due to Chinese New Year etc. Apple is a smart company and I'm sure they accounted for these types of issues in their planning.

Perhaps MBA has not "officially" launched yet and volumes are delayed from MWSF projections. But why have (5) demo models for people to use in the store if you can't actually buy one. I suspect something has gone terribly off the rails in the manufacturing process - low part supply or high defects. We'll probably never know. Despite my constant eagerness to jump on all new things Apple, I think I will sit back for a while and let this one settle out.

I guess there isn't really too much of a back log - in terms of units needed to ship against current MacBook and MBP units shipped a week.
Could be to make sure that people choose right between an updated MBP and the Air - but I agree it's a bit iffy as to the delays. Being sold out all the time can be a profitable strategy (see the Wii), but the market will move on. Maybe it was a bit of chest thumping, and for all it's worth it's more a concept designer laptop, till v2 or the new MBP?
Give it till the end of the month I say.

This is just like when the iPod touch was released. I'd call a store, they'd say they had 4 in stock. I'd then call a minute later, and a different person would tell me they had none. It's that the Apple stores got some in earlier than expected, and they don't want to completely sell out. So, they just put them on display.

It all depends what location you are in. Here in Austin, there are two stores. I went to one and they didn't even have demos but were selling them. I went to the second store and they had demos but no stock. I went into store 2 one morning to take a chance just as the doors opened but was told no stock. Well I left the store and called the first store and they said they had stock of only the 1.6 model. Just for the hell of it I called store 2 which I just left 10 minutes earlier and they all of a sudden said "sure we have both models."

I think the communication lines between sales and the back office is horrible. They do not communicate well with each other at all.

When my MPA was diagnosed DOA due to the constant spinning fan, it took 3 days for the apple store to get inventory.

I guess this could be related to the massive snow storms in China but I would agree that the launch was not planned very well. I guess the whole notion of the pre order was to gauge how much supply they needed but what I have observed at the stores is impulse purchasing. A person will walk in and see the air and ask, "do you have one in stock?" and Bam it is sold. What looks like limited numbers could be driving desire in some respect. The hot item that has to be purchased when the opportunity is presented unless you want to wait for an online order to arrive.

Well I bought mine on tuesday and I got the last one in all of southern california! Seriously, tracked down every apple store in so cal and found only one 1.8 SSD in Northridge which is very far from me. No 1.6 's available at all. I think apple knows that it would be popular and are using this to their advantage. Kinda like a club, when u make everyone wait out front so it adds to the excitement of passer-byes.

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